Alfa Romeo has announced the pricing for its all-new Giulietta family hatchback. It’s certainly a looker, and the entry-level prices mean it could put traditional top-selling hatchbacks to the test.

The brand new Giulietta is the Italian marque’s latest attempt at taking on the Ford Focus and the Volkswagen Golf. It replaces the old Alfa 147 and offers a totally new platform, five-door body, high-tech features and fast, efficient engines.

All turbo engine line-up

Every single one of the Alfa Giulietta’s engine options comes with a turbocharger. This not only improves performance, it also helps to make the car more efficient.

Every engine in the Giulietta will be a turbo – to improve performance and efficiency

On the petrol side, entry-level is a 1.4 TB with 120bhp, followed by a 1.4 TB MultiAir unit with a remarkable 170bhp – MultiAir gives much greater control over the intake of air into the engine, helping to improve the efficiency of the combustion cycle.

The base diesel is a 1.6 JTDM-2 with 105bhp, with a 2.0 JTDM-2 offering 170bhp as the top choice.

JTDM-2 is the same as Fiat’s MultiJet II, meaning direct injection with up to eight injections per cycle – again to improve efficiency.

Heading the range is a high-performance Giulietta Cloverleaf, which gets its own 235bhp 1750TBi powerplant. With 250lb ft of torque (pulling power), it has the greatest torque-per-litre figure of any petrol engine currently on sale.

Cloverleaf version will be the ‘hot hatch’ in the Giulietta line-up

All but the Cloverleaf also feature start-stop technology as standard. This helps achieve CO2 figures as low as 114g/km for the diesels and 134g/km for the petrols.

Trim levels and equipment

The Alfa Romeo Giulietta is available in the same three trim levels as the Alfa Romeo MiTo, plus the stand-alone Cloverleaf hot hatch.

The choices are Turismo, Lusso and Veloce. Standard kit includes air conditioning, all-round electric windows, stability control, six airbags, a ‘Q2’ electronic front differential, and Alfa’s DNA system, which gives the driver choice of Dynamic, Normal and All Weather chassis settings.

Three trim levels will make up the Giulietta range – Turismo, Lusso and Veloce

The Cloverleaf gets unique detailing inside and out – including 18-inch alloy wheels, red brake calipers and Cloverleaf badging on the front wings – and can accelerate from 0-62mph in 6.8 seconds before heading onto a top speed of 150mph.

Giulietta Prices

Pricing for the new Alfa Romeo Giulietta starts at £16,995 for petrols and £17,895 for diesels. There are nine variants in total, and the range-topping Cloverleaf costs from £24,495.

The Giulietta looks good value compared to a Ford Focus, if less so compared to a Volkswagen Golf. But kit levels are decent, there are plenty of owner customisation options, and it certainly looks distinctive.

The only potential issue with the car is the long-term outlook – Alfa Romeo was rated very poor for reliability in the most recent Which? Car survey.

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